Frank S. Tavenner, Jr.
| Frank S. Tavenner, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 12, 1895 Woodstock, Virginia, US |
| Died | October 21, 1964 (aged 69) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Years active | 1927–circa 1960 |
| Known for | Counsel for the House Un-American Activities Committee |
Frank Stacy Tavenner, Jr. (July 12, 1895 – October 21, 1964) was a Virginia lawyer who was U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia, along with other high profile government legal positions.
Biography
Tavenner was born in Woodstock, Virginia in 1895. He took an A.B. degree at Roanoke College in 1916, an A.M. at Princeton University in 1917, and an LL.B at the University of Virginia Law School in 1927, after which he began the practice of law in his home town. His father, F. S. Tavenner, Sr., was a lawyer, member of the Senate of Virginia, and judge. The elder Tavenner held the same Senate seat later occupied by Harry Byrd, Sr. and Harry Byrd, Jr..
In 1933 Tavenner was appointed assistant U.S. attorney in the Western District of Virginia. In 1938, he along with A.C. Buchanan were the choices of Virginia Senators Carter Glass and Harry Byrd, Sr., to a vacancy on the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, to which Franklin D. Roosevelt named instead Floyd H. Roberts. In 1940, Tavenner became U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia, nominated by Roosevelt.
Following World War II he was assigned by the Department of the Army to be Counsel under Joseph B. Keenan and later Acting Chief of Counsel of the International Prosecution Section for the International Military Tribunal for the Far East from late 1945 to the end of the trial in 1948.
From 1949 until the mid-1950s Tavenner was Chief Counsel for the House Un-American Activities Committee.
Tavenner died in 1964, and was buried in the Massanutten Cemetery in Woodstock.